North African HRC market to see increased activity next week

The North African hot rolled coil (HRC) markets have continued to remain weak, though the transaction volumes are foreseen to increase in the coming weeks.
 
Although flat steel demand is currently low in Egypt, local flat steel producer EZDK has increased its HRC export offers by $5-10/mt from $630/mt FOB to $635-640/mt FOB. The producer is expected to announce its domestic HRC offers and it is likely to raise its offer prices.
 
On the other hand, HRC buyers in Tunisia are currently adopting a wait-and-see stance and the market is quite silent. New HRC import offers, which are predicted to be announced by the second week of January, are anticipated to shape the market, while the general expectation is for an upward movement in these new offers. Accordingly, Russian steel producers will likely to raise their HRC offers for February shipments, from $650-670/mt CFR for January shipments.